Organic Lifestyle Magazine

Keystone Pipeline Leak in South Dakota About Double Previous Estimate

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Remeber that Keystone crude oil pipeline leak in rural South Dakota last November? The spill size is nearly double the original estimate. The spill was considered said to be the largest spill in South Dakota, but now this estimate makes it the seventh largest inland spill in the whole U.S. since 2010.

Previous reports had estimated the spill to be about 5,000 barrels or 210,000 gallons. Robynn Tysver, a spokeswoman for Calgary-based TransCanada Corp, which owns the pipeline, told the Aberdeen American News now states that 9,700 barrels of oil leaked, or 407,400 gallons.

Keystone has leaked substantially more oil, and more often, in the United States than the company indicated to regulators in risk assessments before operations began in 2010, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.” – Reuters

The Keystone Pipeline is 2,687-miles long.  It runs from Alberta, Canada, to Nebraska, where it then splits, going to Illinois and Texas. The pipeline is owned by TransCanada, which is seeking to build the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. A federal investigation showed that construction damage was most likely the cause of the oil spill.

The spill was originally estimated to have released some 210,000 gallons of crude. Then federal investigators reported that they had an “unconfirmed lower spill estimate,” but did not specify further.

They say the spill was likely caused because of mechanical damage that occurred when this portion of the pipeline was built in 2008. The damage, the investigators add, was probably caused by a weight installed at the time. ‘Such weights are used in places where changing water levels could make a pipeline float.’ ” – NPR’s Jeff Brady reported

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Michael Edwards

Michael Edwards

Owner at Organic Lifestyle Magazine
Michael Edwards is the founder, owner, editor-in-chief, and janitor for Organic Lifestyle Magazine. At age 17, Michael weighed more than 360 pounds. He suffered from allergies, frequent bouts of illness, and chronic, debilitating insomnia. Conventional medicine wasn’t working. While he restored his health through alternative medicine he studied natural health and became immersed in it.

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Michael Edwards
Michael Edwards